Heart
I AM VULNERABLE
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;“
Do you ever forget who you are and whose you are? Coaches don’t let their players forget. They remind them, “We’re the fighting Tigers!” In other words, “Go out there and fight to win! You’re a mean, tough Tiger!” Nations also remind citizens who they are. We fly flags and sing national anthems. Parents may call children to proper behavior by saying, “Act like a Jones,” or whatever the family name is. In Colossians 3:12 and following, Paul reminds us to whom we belong and to reflect Christ in our thoughts, attitudes, and relationships. But how do we do that and why? The answer to why is because we’re vulnerable to our old nature. Jesus warns us in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” But weren’t we circumcised in Christ and aren’t we new creations? Yes, but take a quick look at some of your thoughts and behaviors and you’ll see that we’re still vulnerable to our old nature. The good news is, we can choose to daily “put on” or “fill” our hearts to reflect who we are in Christ just as we put on clothing according to what we intend to do for the day. For instance, Wednesday, I put on jeans and tennis shoes to babysit our grandkids. After babysitting and upon arriving at the office, I explained why I had on tennis shoes; which I don’t typically put on for work. After work, my husband and I played golf so I came home and put on golf shoes and clothing. Yesterday, I put on white slacks and a cute top to go to our Prayer Team meeting and then take a friend to lunch. Upon arriving home from work, I put on exercise clothes to go to Zumba. In other words, I chose what I put on according to what I intended to do. The penetrating question for us today and everyday is, what are our intentions? The best way to avoid being vulnerable to our “old nature” is to put on Christ’s likeness every morning and continue through the evening.
Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me the righteous character of Christ. Fill my heart today to overflowing with all that reflects Him.
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Adapted from If God in In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case?
Lord who Turns King’s Hearts
Friends,
If you haven’t read Ezra in a while, jump in! It’s been so awesome. I’m in chapter 6 today, so let me bring you up with what’s happened since the Lord stirred the spirit of King Cyrus to let the Jews rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra 1 & 2 record all who returned. It lists ALL the families. It’s neat to read through them all. Ezra 3 tells how they began reconstruction “as one man.” I loved reading that part. In other words, they really came together for this project!
Ezra 4 is so cool because it tells how their enemies, who didn’t want them to rebuild the temple, played like they did and asked to be a part. Do times ever change??? However, and this is a big however, in Ezra 4:3, Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest replied, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” In other words, “thanks, but no thanks.” Somewhere in there is a whole sermon on being astute.Let’s jump forward to verse 4.
After the foxes in lambs’ clothes were told “thanks, but no thanks,” they got mad and began a campaign against the rebuilding of the temple. It’s a long story. You can read about it in Ezra 4:4-24. Bottom line, the rebuilding was stopped. Don’t you hate that? What a reminder that we live in a fallen world and there will always be opposition to the ongoing work of the Lord. Opposition, but not ultimate defeat! Keep reading.
In Ezra 5 the construction is renewed due to the “preaching of the prophets.” (Amen and amen to pastors preaching the Word of God.) A letter was written to counter the enemies’ letter that had thwarted the rebuilding, and guess what? King Darius not only affirmed Cyrus’ original blessing on the rebuilding, he added his own blessing. See Ezra 6:8-10.
In addition, Daius made sure no more sassy enemies would deter the Jews and rebuilding. Listen to his warning in Ezra 6:11, “And I issued a decree that any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this.” I mean he is one serious guy. Thankfully, he’s on the Jews’ side this time!
Let’s continue with the kings’ thoughts in Ezra 6:12, “May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to chage it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”Now, to the part I really want to emphasize today. Ezra 6:22, (upon completion of the temple) “And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.”
Oh, my dear friends, did you hear that? The Lord turned the heart of the king. We should never despair. The Lord hears our prayers. I pray you are calling out to the Lord who turns kings’ hearts.
For those journaling in Prayers of My Heart, this is an awesome attribute of God upon which to base your prayers for others and yourself. Need a heart change? Know someone who does? P.R.A.Y. to the One who changes hearts.
Love you,
Debbie